Teacher Of Civil War Generals

From West Point to Fort Donelson, General Charles Ferguson Smith was a soldier's soldier. He served at the U.S. Military Academy from 1829 to 1842 as Instructor of Tactics, Adjutant to the Superintendent and Commandant of Cadets. During his 42-year career he was a teacher, mentor and role model for many cadets who became prominent Civil War generals, and he was admired by such former students as Grant, Halleck, Longstreet and Sherman. Smith set an example for junior officers in the Mexican War, leading his light battalion to victories and earning three field promotions. He served with Albert Sidney Johnston and other future Confederate officers in the Mormon War. He mentored Grant while serving with him during the Civil War, and helped turn the tide at Fort Donelson, which led to Grant's rise to fame. He attained the rank of major general, while refusing political favors and ignoring the press. Drawing on never before published letters and journals, this long overdue biography reveals Smith as a faithful officer, excellent disciplinarian, able commander and modest gentleman.

Native Tennessee generals, about forty Confederate and six Union, are profiled here with brief biographies. Forrest, Polk, Stewart, and many more are discussed with regard to their childhoods, prewar vocations, participation in battles around the country, and life after the war if they survived.

No one succeeds alone, and Ulysses S. Grant was no exception. From the earliest days of the Civil War to the heights of Grant's power in the White House, John A. Rawlins was ever at Grant's side. Yet Rawlins's role in Grant's career is often overlooked, and he barely received mention in Grant's own two-volume Memoirs. General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man by Allen J. Ottens is the first major biography of Rawlins in over a century and traces his rise to assistant adjutant general and ultimately Grant's secretary of war. Ottens presents the portrait of a man who teamed with Grant, who submerged his needs and ambition in the service of Grant, and who at times served as the doubter who questioned whether Grant possessed the background to tackle the great responsibilities of the job. Rawlins played a pivotal role in Grant's relatively small staff, acting as administrator, counselor, and defender of Grant's burgeoning popularity. Rawlins qualifies as a true patriot, a man devoted to the Union and devoted to Grant. His is the story of a man who persevered in wartime and during the tumultuous years of Reconstruction and who, despite a ravaging disease that would cut short his blossoming career, grew to become a proponent of the personal and citizenship rights of those formerly enslaved. General John A. Rawlins will prove to be a fascinating and essential read for all who have an interest in leadership, the Civil War, or Ulysses S. Grant.

When U.S. Congressman Lucian Anderson from Kentucky voted for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in January 1865, abolishing slavery, he gambled more than his political career. Anderson was from Mayfield, one of the most rabidly secessionist towns in the Bluegrass State. During the Civil War, his political alignment changed from pro-slavery Union Democrat to Unconditional Unionist to Republican. Elected by Unionists in 1863, he soon received death threats and was kidnapped by Confederate raiders who held him for ransom (while he tried to convert them to the Union cause). He was a Kentucky delegate to the 1864 national convention that re-nominated President Abraham Lincoln. Knowing he could not win another term, Anderson did not seek reelection in 1865. Based on newspaper articles, letters and other contemporary sources, this book provides a detailed portrait of an overlooked but significant figure of the Civil War and Kentucky history.

Once again, the State of Arkansas has adopted An Arkansas History for Young People as an official textbook for middle-level and/or junior-high-school Arkansas-history classes. This fourth edition incorporates new research done after extensive consultations with middle-level and junior-high teachers from across the state, curriculum coordinators, literacy coaches, university professors, and students themselves. It includes a multitude of new features and is now full color throughout. This edition has been completely redesigned and now features a modern format and new graphics suitable for many levels of student readers.

Between 1817 and 1864, sixteen officers were assigned as Commandants of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy. They played an important role in training the officers who would serve on both sides of the Civil War. Historians criticize the program as antiquated for its time: A course in Napoleonic strategy and tactics that did not account for rifled weapons or the particularities of terrain. Yet these commandants made changes to the program, developed new textbooks and instructed cadets who became field generals. The biographies of the commandants are presented along with their contributions to the Academy, notable graduates and other military service.

Much of Civil War history emphasizes generalship (or the lack of it) as the key factor in analyzing why battles were won or lost. Taking an innovative approach, this book focuses on six elements of victory in nine important Western Theater engagements during 1862--a year when the North had not yet fully mobilized for war. With increasing complexity on the battlefield and the enormous growth of American armies, winning or losing depended upon achieving as many of these six critical goals as possible: a clear objective; mobilization of effective lieutenants; a competent staff; seizing and holding initiative; deploying all available resources; and realizing a successful strategic outcome. The more goals achieved, the greater the victory.

The corresponding Teacher's Guide is a page-by-page supplementary resource that gives you additional activities to enhance the student's learning opportunities by using cross-curricular materials including discussion questions, reproducible vocabulary, science, geography and math activities. Each Teacher's Guide turns you into the expert-we've done all the research for you! This comprehensive resource enhances the many dramatic learning opportunities students can gain from reading this mystery by Carole Marsh. The supplementary Teacher's Guide includes: ¥ A chapter guide of additional information, trivia, historical facts, and more to help teachers be "Experts!" ¥ Activity ideas that make the book come dramatically to life for young readers! ¥ The author's additional comments and thoughts about the subject ¥ Some reproducible activities ¥ Great out-of-the-box ideas for activities.